Boston Logan International Airport Lands Emirates and Non-stops to Dubai

The Massachusetts economy will be better connected with the world on March 10 when Emirates - named the "World's Best Airline" at the 2013 Paris Air Show -- begins flying daily nonstop service between Boston and the United Arab Emirates. From its Dubai hub, Emirates flies to 134 destinations worldwide, including 10 in India.

"Nonstop service to the Middle East will open up new commercial and economic opportunities for Massachusetts and the region," said Governor Deval Patrick. "This and similar service expansions is how we bolster the Commonwealth's competitiveness.''

Emirates will use Boeing 777-200LR aircraft for the route, with the cabin configured for three classes of service and 266 seats. Flight 237 will depart Dubai daily at 9:45 a.m. and arrive at Boston at 3:15 p.m. Flight 238 will depart Boston at 10:55 p.m. and arrive in Dubai at 7:10 p.m. the next day.

"The arrival of Emirates and its non-stop service to Dubai will expand Boston's global presence in business and tourism," Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. "We look forward to welcoming them to Boston and applaud Massport for its work in helping our City continue its strong growth."

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: "Our Boston service will further develop this exciting gateway into the northeastern United States. Based on passenger demand, we believe the time is right to further boost our U.S operations, while stimulating channels of trade and tourism to and from the state of Massachusetts and the wider New England region."

The new service falls under Massport's International Air Service Incentive Program, which applies to new nonstop international service to destinations in Asia, Central America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. The incentive program includes landing fee credits and joint advertising opportunities. Massport's action is not designed to subsidize a service that is not likely to be self-sufficient, but to help minimize the initial business risk of the air carrier. Massport is undertaking the program to compete with other airports around the country, most of which offer some type of financial incentive to attract new international air service.

"Our new partnership with Emirates helps expand the global reach of Boston and Logan by connecting New England with new markets,'' said Thomas P. Glynn, Massport's CEO. "Emirates offers seamless connections from Dubai to dozens of destinations in the Middle East, India, East Africa and Southeast Asia - a combined market from Boston that in 2012 saw more than 331,000 passengers spend more than $295 million in tickets.''

The most heavily traveled destinations from Boston served by Emirates are Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Chennai, Singapore, Hyderabad, Nairobi, and Dubai.

Massport had been in discussions with Emirates since 2006 about the potential for service. In the past 17 months, new international service to and from Logan includes Japan Airlines service to Tokyo, Copa Airlines service to Panama City, Turkish Airlines announcing they will start service to Istanbul in May, and now Emirates.

Emirates started flights to America in 2004, beginning with New York. The airline's current seven U.S gateways form part of a 134-destination network, served by a fleet of more than 200 modern aircraft, including the airline's flagship Airbus A380. Emirates' much-lauded hub in Dubai is equipped with the world's first purpose-built A380 concourse, housing the largest First and Business Class lounges in the industry.

Aboard the Boeing 777-200LR serving Boston, customers in all classes will be able to dine on gourmet-chef prepared food, browse through more than 1,500 channels of movies, TV, music and games on the ice Digital Widescreen in-flight entertainment system. Multi-lingual cabin crews are on each flight. As part of an agreement with JetBlue, Emirates and JetBlue passengers are able to travel on each other's flights and earn reciprocal miles.